Discussion as a Way of Teaching - Response

While reading the selected chapters from Discussion as a Way of Teaching, my prevailing impression was that everything the authors were saying made a lot of sense.  I agree with all of the benefits of discussion and that it is an integral educational tool.  I have heard before that discussion at its best exemplifies the democratic process, but I particularly liked how the authors explained that this is because both discussion and democracy promote and nurture human growth; I feel that this explanation gets to the core of why discussion is so important.  I agree that it fosters a collective wisdom, challenges and consolidates meaning, and expands the horizons of all participants.  However, while I read this article, underlying my thoughts was the impression that having high-quality discussions of this caliber and impact in the classroom will require a lot of foresight and planning by the teacher.  At first glance, discussion can appear quite simple, but in reality it cannot operate effectively unless certain conditions are met.

I have experienced a lot of high-quality discussion firsthand in my own education, and when I look back at my experiences, I realize that the most meaningful discussions occurred in classrooms that had a strong sense of community.  Because of this, I think that the first step for teachers towards facilitating effective discussions (in addition to creating an overall successful classroom climate) is to foster a communal atmosphere.  In tight-knit classrooms, students are more willing to work with each other because they have established feelings of respect, care, and trust in one another.  Discussion as a Way of Teaching makes the necessity of a close classroom apparent when it explains the essential dispositions of democratic discussions.  Classes with a strong sense of community will almost certainly be able to achieve six of these dispositions: hospitality, participation, mindfulness, humility, mutuality, and appreciation.  Hope and deliberation will also be much more likely to occur because students who are close work well together (and often desire to work together), support each other, and have a positive outlook (in my experience).  All that remains is autonomy, which is largely dependent on the individual, but in classrooms where students feel comfortable with each other (i.e. in close classrooms), students are more likely to feel comfortable voicing their dissent and retaining their unique opinions.  For these reasons, I feel that the crucial first step towards achieving meaningful discussion is to foster strong bonds between students within the classroom.

Introductory Letter Assignment

Hey Everyone,

My name is Brad Plummer, and I am a Secondary English Education Major here at Eastern Washington University.  This will be my 5th year of undergraduate studies.  I was born and raised in northern California, and after graduating from high school, I went to Sierra College, a community college in my hometown, for two years and received an associate's degree in natural science.  A few days after graduating from Sierra College, I moved up to Washington with my family and started going to Eastern, where I have now studied to be a teacher for the past two years.  I have greatly enjoyed my entire college experience, but now that I have only a few classes left to take, I find myself looking forward to what lies beyond undergrad.

I received my placement at the end of spring quarter, so I am now in my second quarter of student teaching, and I will be student teaching full time this spring.  I have been given the opportunity to work with two excellent and highly qualified teachers, which I am very grateful for.  Being able to get actual field experience has been very illuminating and has given me a greater sense of what the teaching profession entails.  I strongly believe that we learn to teach by teaching, and I feel that there are a lot of things about the profession that we cannot fully understand until we experience it for ourselves.  For this reason, I am really enjoying my student teaching because it has given me numerous opportunities to learn about the education process, the teaching profession, and myself.  I have taught several lessons at my placement school, and each time I learn something new.  After reflecting on my teaching and receiving some critiques, I feel that I have narrowed down my strengths and weaknesses down to a few areas.

One of the biggest areas in need of improvement is my voice.  I am a generally laid-back person, and tend to be more soft-spoken.  Because of this, I sometimes don't speak loud enough for my students to hear.  My tone also runs the risk of coming across as unenthusiastic, so I am constantly aware of and seeking to improve on my expressiveness and projection while speaking.  The other main area in need of improvement is my classroom management.  Many of my students have given me feedback that I need to be more strict while I am teaching.  I need to have better control over my classrooms so I can maximize effectiveness and facilitate learning.

One of my strengths as a potential teacher is that I am confident while I am teaching.  I have a strong and thorough understanding of my content area, and I believe in myself and my ability to teach.  Another strength of mine is that I am very passionate about what I teach.  I love literature, writing, and high-quality discussions, and I have a strong desire to share my passion with others.  I am also a very adaptable person and feel that I can make changes and adjustments to accommodate various circumstances.  Additionally, I am always open to receiving feedback, and I am always looking to improve upon and perfect my teaching skills, which will serve me well as I move forward into the profession.

I have several goals for this course.  My first goal is that I want to learn various strategies and techniques that will enable me to help my students comprehend and interact with the diverse array of literature that they will encounter inside and outside of the classroom.  My second goal is that I want to become a better public speaker by participating in classroom discussions and lessons.  My third goal is that I want to learn how I can share my passion for reading with my students and instill an appreciation, if not desire, for reading; I want my students to want to read, and I want to learn ways that I can help them see the connections between the text, themselves, and the world they live in.

I am very excited to begin another year at Eastern, and I look forward to working with you all.